Following is a question by the Hon Charles Peter Mok and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Yau Shing-mu, in the Legislative Council today (June 3):

Question:

According to a paper submitted by the Development Bureau to the Panel on Transport of this Council in November last year, the third comprehensive transport study (CTS-3) completed in 1999 had laid down the need for the wider use of advanced technologies in transport management, and the Transport Department (TD) was developing a number of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) applications. Moreover, the Policy Address this year has proposed the study of building a “Smart City” using Kowloon East as a pilot area, and the study will include the use of intelligent data and technologies in transport management. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) given that CTS-3 laid down the need for the wider use of advanced technologies in transport management, of the scope, latest progress and effectiveness of the relevant study, the government departments responsible for the study, as well as the feasibility of the application of study findings;

(2) given that the authorities stated in the aforesaid paper that they would launch the Public Transport Strategy Study to examine the overall strategic arrangements for public transport services, of the reasons and justifications for the authorities not including ITS applications in the study;

(3) of the ITS that are currently in use in Hong Kong, and the relevant public expenditure in each of the past three years;

(4) whether the authorities will consider setting up more “Smart City” pilot areas, so as to conduct a more comprehensive and extensive study on ITS applications; if they will, of the details; whether the authorities will consider publishing the phased outcome of the study; and

(5) given that the Transport Information System developed by TD provides various services related to road traffic information, etc., whether the authorities have assessed if the usage of the various services meet expectations; whether the authorities will make public the usage statistics of the various services; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

My reply to the various parts of the Hon Charles Peter Mok’s question is as follows.

(1) The Transport Department (TD) has implemented by phases the various intelligent transport measures mentioned in the Third Comprehensive Transport Study completed in 1999. The implementation progress is set out in Annex 1.

(2) In tandem with the further development of the railway network, the Public Transport Strategy Study (PTSS) will examine the role and positioning of public transport services other than the railway. The objective is to enhance their complementarity, so that the public can enjoy efficient services with reasonable modal choices on the one hand, and the public transport operators can enjoy long-term sustainable development on the other hand. The study will not cover topics that are not related to the role and positioning of public transport services, or policies that have been working well or issues that can be effectively handled under the existing mechanisms. Hence, the topic on intelligent transportation systems is not covered in the PTSS. Nevertheless, the TD has been closely monitoring the development of the intelligent transport systems and will continue to study and enhance services relating to intelligent transport measures.

(3) The expenditures spent on Intelligent Transport Systems by the TD in the past three years are set out in Annex 2.

(4) The Energizing Kowloon East Office (EKEO) of the Development Bureau will carry out a pilot study in Kowloon East to examine the feasibility of transforming the area into a sustainable core business district by implementing measures such as making use of smart data and technology, creating a low carbon green community and enhancing walkability and mobility, etc.

A consultancy study will be commissioned within 2015 to formulate the smart initiatives for implementation in Kowloon East. The EKEO of the Development Bureau will continue to engage the relevant stakeholders during the course of the study and make available the interim findings. The Development Bureau will also continue to look closely for opportunities in introducing “smart city” elements into the New Development Areas (NDAs). Depending on the experience gained from Kowloon East, suitable “smart city” initiatives will be introduced to the NDAs where appropriate.

(5) The Transport Information System developed by the TD provides “Road Traffic Information Service”, “Hong Kong eTransport” and “Hong Kong eRouting”. The TD considers that the usage of these services has generally met the expectation. For example, the “Hong Kong eTransport” application has recorded over 1.3 million downloads so far, with around 18 000 visits per day. The TD also provides public transport information and real-time traffic information free of charge to the public through data.gov.hk. The average daily data download of the service is around 4 million times.

The TD will continue to closely monitor the usage of these services, and update and enhance the services in a timely manner to ensure that they meet the public need.